


How To Win A Girl In Ten Days

by fireiscatching



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-07
Updated: 2012-04-15
Packaged: 2017-10-29 02:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/314988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireiscatching/pseuds/fireiscatching
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass have an extensive history and a complicated relationship. With Astoria's wedding fast approaching, can Draco win the heart of the only woman he can't have?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The second wizarding war had been over for three years, but slippery, elusive Draco Malfoy had not changed in the slightest. His Dark Mark no longer burned, but the image was permanently tattooed onto his pale skin and under his eyelids. Draco was still a very bitter man after the war, and had little to no desire to associate with anyone. Nevertheless, he was attending his friend (or as close as Draco Malfoy came to having a friend) Blaise Zabini's engagement party.

News of Blaise’s engagement had come quickly- Draco reckoned that he hadn’t been with the bird for more than a year, and Blaise was certainly not the type to settle down early. Draco had obliged to attend, knowing it was of the utmost importance to make his appearance at Pureblood events when they arose and when he was invited.

The April evening was unusually warm. Draco sat on the patio of his family's ancient manor, awaiting Blaise's arrival. Draco's friend was coming to escort him to the party. Draco, naturally, found this whole predicament quite ridiculous, but his mother had insisted on her son not leaving the manor alone. Narcissa Malfoy had become extremely paranoid since Lucius was sent to Azkaban. Even though he had returned and survived the war, Narcissa constantly worried about him and Draco.

So, even though Draco had tried to explain that he would be perfectly safe at the party, Blaise was still coming to get him through the Floo Network.

The former Slytherin prince sighed and walked back into the lavish manor's living room. Draco was dressed in a charcoal gray set of dress robes that almost came up to the top of his neck. It was not secondhand, but according to what he was used to, it might as well have been. The Malfoy family had been forced to cut back on their usually frivolous spending and had become much more frugal when making purchases that weren't necessities. Damn the Ministry for searching their vault, making sure none of their money had been stolen from other witches and wizards to pay for The Dark Lord's…things.

A tall figure suddenly appeared in the Malfoy's living room.

"Good evening, Draco. Shall we be going?" Blaise Zabini said with a half smile on his dark, handsome face.

"Good evening, Blaise. Yes, I suppose we shall… Mother! I'm leaving!" he called out. "Quick, let's go before the woman can make her way down here."

Draco's friend smirked, and the two boys stepped towards the large fireplace.  
"When I leave, make sure-"

"I think I know how to use the Floo, thank you." Draco interrupted coldly.

Blaise smirked again and turned his back to the blonde, shouting clearly, "Zabini Manor!"

Draco took some of the green powder on the mantle and Flooed to the same destination as the man before him.

The first thing Draco saw when he stepped out of the emerald flames was a beautifully decorated room with a gigantic banner that read: Congratulations Blaise and-  
Just as Draco was about to read the unfortunate woman's name, a light-headed figure literally jumped on top of him. "Drakie! I noticed you didn't reply to my owl this morning. What happened? I was ever so worried about you." Pansy’s tone was alluring-as alluring as she was capable-but Draco simply sneered at her.

"Let me up, you insolent girl. Listen, I didn’t come to this wretched party to be ambushed by someone as insignificant to me as yourself. I suggest you take yourself and your owls away from me and do not think about returning. I have no interest in a relationship." Draco watched as her eyes filled with tears and she turned on her heel out of the lavish room.

He scoffed at the annoying girl's retreating back and turned around to face the rest of the party. He saw a very attractive blonde looking at him from across the room. She had big brown eyes and a nice smile. His mouth curved upward into a half smile and he made his way over to the now blushing girl who was staring right back at him. He was so focused on not making a fool of himself in front of her that he ran right into another woman. She fell to the floor, and Draco, now a bit annoyed she had held him up, pulled the woman to her feet.

Looking into her eyes, Draco realized there was something unnervingly familiar about her. The sea green color of them was something he had only seen on one woman, a very special one.

It couldn’t be.

Absolutely not.

 

Astoria? Astoria Greengrass? Here? He’d always thought she hated Zabini (and he couldn’t blame her, he was really rather apathetic about things).

"Astoria?" he said.

"Hello, Draco."

Astoria's voice was so oddly calm that Draco flinched. The two of them had dated long ago, and he had a feeling that she still hadn't forgiven him for being such a dick.

"Astoria! H-how've you been? You look fantastic!"

It wasn't an understatement. Her skin was lightly tanned; sun kissed. The midnight blue dress she wore clung perfectly to her every curve and brought out the light blue flecks in her sea green eyes. Her chocolate curls dripped delicately down her back. Her legs seemed to go on for miles.

She really did look great. He hadn't been lying. But of course, being the hardheaded bitch that she was, she didn't realize this.

"Oh thank you, Draco. I thought girls like me weren't quite your type? I remember your fondness for blondes."

At this, Draco couldn't help but roll his eyes. Now she was just being immature. Granted, it hadn't been the smartest decision to cheat on her with Pansy, but that was ages ago. Besides, just a day after their breakup, he had caught Astoria pressed flush up against Andrew Toulson from Ravenclaw, and the pair seemed to be awfully busy.

"I remember your fondness for blondes as well," he shot back.

She glowered at him. "At least I wasn't with a complete bitch like Parkinson."

"At least I wasn't with some Ravenclaw ponce!"

"At least I was faithful," Astoria said quietly.

"Merlin, Astoria, that was ages ago. And anyway, I said I was sorry. Can't we put that behind us? Can't we just start fresh?"

"No, we most certainly cannot 'start fresh' Draco! You can't just forget about things like that!"

"Why not?"

"Why not? Why not? Ugh, you're just as much of a prick as when I last saw you. Save it, Malfoy. I don't want to hear it. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have my engagement party to attend to."

Had Draco heard her right? Her engagement party? Blaise couldn’t have possibly scored a woman as fantastic as Astoria! And she’d hated him!

But sure enough, when Draco looked back at the enormous banner that he could now clearly see, it read: Congratulations Blaise and Astoria!

Almost immediately after he read the banner, he whipped around to make a snarky comment back to Astoria about enjoying her party, but she was gone. He looked across the marble dance floor to find her wrapped in his friends arms, looking positively carefree.

Draco sneered at the happy couple and walked out the side door that led to a small garden on the side of the ballroom. A feeling that Malfoy men hardly ever had was forming in the pit of his stomach. Even though he had not seen his former best friend for quite some time, Draco was ridiculously jealous of Blaise and his intimate relationship with Astoria. If there was one thing he knew, things were about to get ugly.

Seriously ugly.


	2. Chapter 2

The night was unusually warm and sticky. Draco laid in his bed, unmoving. It had been three weeks since Astoria and Blaise's engagement party, and he was still analyzing what she had said to him. "I remember your fondness for blondes." and "At least I was faithful." Her harsh words haunted him. He wanted to make it up to her somehow but he didn’t know how- the wedding was less than two months from now. It wasn’t like he could burst into her house and profess his undying love for her.

Undying love. What a load of shit. Draco didn't believe in love. The only thing he believed was worthwhile was money and power. People fall out of love all the time. Riches can make the world go round. Draco was raised to believe that and he hadn't believed differently since then.

The only time he had experienced love was when he'd been dating Pansy. He was young and foolish, and didn’t know that he would grow to think Pansy an annoying cow. They had dated for over two years when he finally blew up and broke up with her. Pansy had been devastated, but Draco hadn't cared. He'd never cared about her.

But there was one woman he cared about now.

Astoria. Sweet, sweet Astoria. She was so incredibly beautiful. Draco couldn’t get the image of her out of his head. Her long, brown hair dripped down her slender back in gentle waves; her sea green eyes twinkled. Her smile was happy and carefree, her laugh bubbly and light with joy.

Aside from her beauty, she also had a good heart. She was always doing something good for others, even if it meant things got harder for her. 

Draco rubbed his eyes and looked at the green clock next to his bed. The hands showed him that it was only 3:30 AM. He groaned and fell back onto his pillow. Now wide awake, Draco stared up at the white ceiling above him. The image of Astoria flitted in and out of his head. Why had he been so rude to her that night at her engagement party? Why hadn't he said something to make it up to her? Why did he think that by being a complete ass he would get to be with her?

The wave of fatigue swept over Draco again and he shut his eyes. As hard as he tried, he couldn't sleep with the image of the beautiful Astoria running through his mind. He couldn’t believe what he'd gotten himself into. He was a Malfoy, for God's sake! Malfoys didn’t become completely consumed with a woman in less than a month! Draco didn’t know if Malfoy men ever became consumed with their wives.

Draco wanted to visit Astoria, but didn’t know how to pose the invitation of them getting together without her vehemently refusing. He figured that if he played the cards right, he might be able to at least speak to Astoria again. His mistake a few years ago was proving to cause more trouble than he had ever imagined.

Loving Astoria was hard in more ways than one. First, he couldn’t even see her. Second, he felt like such a softy for wanting her. He was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to have everything together. He was supposed to feel like a man. Astoria made him feel weak, powerless. In a way he was powerless. She had every bit of him in her hands. What was really pathetic was that she had no idea.

After a fitful few hours of rest, he decided that he might as well do something about the situation today. Sitting here and worrying about things wouldn't change anything. The only way he would be able to talk to her was if he saw her directly. There was one problem, however. He didn't have a clue where she lived. 

Draco sifted through a large stack of papers in his bedroom , trying to find the old letter from the couple that had their address on it. After almost an hour of searching he finally found the paper he was looking for. He tore off the piece of parchment that bore their address, concentrated on it, shoved the paper into his pocket, and Apparated straight to their home.

When he reached his destination, he wondered if he had gotten the address right. His gray eyes saw a small cottage overlooking a beautiful ocean. It was just the place Astoria would have loved to live in, but he knew Blaise wouldn't be too keen on it. He smirked in spite of himself as he pushed through the small white picket fence surrounding the house. Blaise must really have it bad for her to agree to live in this place.

That was another thing. What if Blaise was the only one home? What would Draco do then? He shoved the thought out of his mind, trying to suppress his growing nervousness. Of course Astoria would be home; it was a Sunday morning. He seriously hoped that he was right as he approached the couple's elegant door. 

Blaise and Draco had been good friends all through school. After seventh year, Blaise started dating Daphne Greengrass' younger sister Astoria. All of the pureblood community had been surprised that Blaise chose Astoria and not her older sister Daphne. Draco hadn't known what to make of it. When they were young, Draco, Daphne and Astoria had all played together and still enjoyed each others company as they got older. Although Draco hadn't spoken to Astoria in years, he still wished he would have known she was dating one of his good friends. Or whatever he and Blaise were these days.

Three years later, Blaise proposed. Astoria obviously said yes. Over the course of their relationship, Draco distanced himself from Blaise, only visiting upon Blaise's request. The pair grew apart but still talked occasionally. His mother had told him to not lose contact with anyone within the inner Pureblood circle, the Zabinis included. 

He was a bit surprised when he was invited to their engagement party. Draco had shown up anyway, and much to his dismay, Astoria hadn't been pleased with him. Blaise hadn't spoken to him despite picking him up from the Manor. Draco wasn't used to people hating him, and this was a big blow to his ego. 

Bracing himself, he rang the bell. A few agonizing moments passed- was anyone home? His question was answered as soon as he thought it. Someone on the inside undid the lock and started to open the door. Draco crossed his fingers and hoped it would be Astoria who answered the door. 

To his dismay, his old friend Blaise opened the door instead.   
"Good morning, Draco. I've been expecting you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Hopefully it isn't too atrocious; I wrote this quite a while ago and am not really taking the time to edit these first few chapters to their full potential at the moment.
> 
> I'm trying my best to finish up the next chapter of my other stories, so be on the lookout if you keep up with my other stories.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been posted on a few other sites (by me of course ;)) and so if you come across a story called Love and War that closely resembles this one, it's probably mine.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
